Borno Dam collapse: Coalition heaps blame on Water Resources Minister

The Coalition of Civil Society Advocacy Groups for Accountability and Probity has accused the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, of negligence resulted in the collapse of the Alau Dam in Borno state.

The Alau Dam in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital had collapsed last week, leading to devastating floods in most of the state capital and that led to the loss of lives, rendering many people homeless with property worth billions of naira washed away.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Spokesman of the Coalition, Comrade Kolade Olaoluwa maintained that the blame for the collapse of the dam rests squarely on the shoulders of the Minister of Water Resources since he failed to act swiftly and professionally to avert the disaster.

They also demanded for the resignation of the Honourable Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation as the only just way to appease the people of Borno State and Nigerians at large who are traumatized by his sheer negligence.

Similarly, the Coalition accused the Minister of massive corruption and primitive accumulation following his nonchalant attitude in striving to avert the collapse of other dams, especially that billions of naira are now spent trying to remedy a situation that would have cost taxpayers less money.

Failure to resign or give cogent justification for his abysmal failure as demanded, the Coalition threatened to mobilise all civil society organisations in the country and internally displaced persons from Borno State who are presently taking shelter in Abuja to occupy the ministry until justice is done.

“As a Coalition of civil society groups, our prime interest is for the optimal functioning of all sectors of our national life for the good of the entire citizenry. Our prime objective is, therefore, to hold government and leaders in governance accountable for overall efficiency in governance.

” It is against this backdrop that we express our deep disenchantment over the neglect of the Alau dam which precipitated the disaster that now confronts our nation. Our findings indicate that, contrary to the attempt to blame the collapse of the dam on high water levels alone, the prime reason for the collapse is lack of maintenance and the failure of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to conduct integrity test of the dam.

“Nigerians cannot be fooled to cover-up for ineptitude. It is quite discomforting that the Minister did not take steps to avert the dam collapse despite the millions of naira allocated for it but was quick to embark on visits after disaster akin to medicine after death.

“It is gradually becoming obvious that instead of doing his job, the Honourable Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Ustev is only interested in primitive accumulation rather than rendering patroiitc stewardship to Nigerians in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We stand to oppose this form of corruption especially in a sensitive ministry like Water Resources and Sanitation.

“Statistics available to us indicate that, this avoidable disaster has led to colossal loss of human as well as the billions of naira worth of properties due to negligence from the Ministry. We, therefore, demand that the Prof. Joseph Utsev honourably resign or convince Nigerians within 48 why they should continue to condone this act of willful negligence.

“Considering the tense situation of the country, we hope the Ministry comes clear with the state of our dams as this is a matter of safety, security and economic implications. Otherwise, we shall mobilize all civil society organisations internally displaced persons to occupy the Ministry till the Minister resigns or is sacked. The Minister must express genuine remorse and address Nigerians on the steps being taken to avert this calamity from befalling other states and regions of Nigeria”, the text concluded.